Software RAID1 Performance? Read for info. n00bs need not apply :)

GlitterKill · 26-February-04, 06:31 PM

OK. In my quest for more SPEED I am looking for methods to arrange my hard drives in a different manner which will still allow for top speeds and still have data redundancy. I currently use RAID5 and it is THE BEST way I have found for data security in an array. It is not as fast, however, as a RAID0 setup. I currently have (4) 40GB Maxtor 7200RPM ATA133 drives which I use in the RAID5 array and I am planning on formatting them and rearranging the RAID5 as a RAID0 using all four drives (should be blazing fast). I still want to have some data redundancy, though.

I am planning on creating a 60GB partition on the new RAID0 array. I have a seperate 60GB Maxtor 5400RPM drive that I want to use as the Mirror of the 60GB patition on the RAID0 array so that if one of those 4 drives croak I can always throw the 60GB mirror in and still have access to my main stuff.

1. Does this sound like a doable plan?

2. Will the slow 60GB mirror drive slow down the performance of the RAID0 array 60GB partition (ie. will it be throttled down to match speeds)?

Advice is welcome. YES, I know I could just do a 0+1 array but that would halve my space and overall potential speed. I want crazy speed with some backup measures...

If this method wont work I can always do one big RAID0 partition and do Norton Ghost backups to the 60Gb drive.

Rafiki · 26-February-04, 07:19 PM

im not exactly the RAID Guru,but i would think that any type of Mirror in a RAID Array will slow the whole to the speed of the slowest disk.
if i were to go for absolute speed,i would probably do the RAID 0 and go with nightly backups.
IMHO a pain,yes....but worth the trouble for performance.

Kage · 26-February-04, 08:23 PM

My solution to the problem would be to schedule the Norton Ghost program to be run at the times of your liking with that handy program scheduler windows has. I've never used it, but in theory it would work quite well for what you need to do. This way you don't have to manually do anything, unless you just added very important data that you need on the disc that you would want to backup right away.

Red02 · 27-February-04, 07:39 PM

Yeah man go with what Kage said.

For me personally, I'm putting together my old computer to turn it into a back-up/server. Going to put a couple 120gb HDD's on it. I plan on just running norton ghost, and then individually picking files i want and putting them on the server. It's just easier that way.

26-February-04, 06:31 PM		#1 (permalink)
GlitterKill Pimp-of-all-Pimps	Software RAID1 Performance? Read for info. n00bs need not apply :) OK. In my quest for more SPEED I am looking for methods to arrange my hard drives in a different manner which will still allow for top speeds and still have data redundancy. I currently use RAID5 and it is THE BEST way I have found for data security in an array. It is not as fast, however, as a RAID0 setup. I currently have (4) 40GB Maxtor 7200RPM ATA133 drives which I use in the RAID5 array and I am planning on formatting them and rearranging the RAID5 as a RAID0 using all four drives (should be blazing fast). I still want to have some data redundancy, though. I am planning on creating a 60GB partition on the new RAID0 array. I have a seperate 60GB Maxtor 5400RPM drive that I want to use as the Mirror of the 60GB patition on the RAID0 array so that if one of those 4 drives croak I can always throw the 60GB mirror in and still have access to my main stuff. 1. Does this sound like a doable plan? 2. Will the slow 60GB mirror drive slow down the performance of the RAID0 array 60GB partition (ie. will it be throttled down to match speeds)? Advice is welcome. YES, I know I could just do a 0+1 array but that would halve my space and overall potential speed. I want crazy speed with some backup measures... If this method wont work I can always do one big RAID0 partition and do Norton Ghost backups to the 60Gb drive.

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26-February-04, 07:19 PM		#2 (permalink)
Rafiki Apex Tech Maniac	im not exactly the RAID Guru,but i would think that any type of Mirror in a RAID Array will slow the whole to the speed of the slowest disk. if i were to go for absolute speed,i would probably do the RAID 0 and go with nightly backups. IMHO a pain,yes....but worth the trouble for performance.

26-February-04, 08:23 PM		#3 (permalink)
Kage Lokie's Personal WU-Hoe	My solution to the problem would be to schedule the Norton Ghost program to be run at the times of your liking with that handy program scheduler windows has. I've never used it, but in theory it would work quite well for what you need to do. This way you don't have to manually do anything, unless you just added very important data that you need on the disc that you would want to backup right away.

27-February-04, 07:39 PM		#4 (permalink)
Red02 Freck-hoe-d	Yeah man go with what Kage said. For me personally, I'm putting together my old computer to turn it into a back-up/server. Going to put a couple 120gb HDD's on it. I plan on just running norton ghost, and then individually picking files i want and putting them on the server. It's just easier that way.